Child

Friendly
Space

Dilara Zahid, IDMVS

• Child protection strategies can serve different
child protection needs. The most common
child protection strategies are-
1.Case management
2. Community-based mechanisms
3. Child-friendly spaces
4. Protecting excluded children
 Introduction to CFS
Child Friendly Spaces (CFSs) are widely used in
emergencies as a first response to children’s
needs and an entry point for working with
affected communities. Because CFSs can be
established quickly and respond to children’s
rights to protection, psychosocial well "being, and
non "formal education, CFSs are typically used as
temporary supports that contribute to the care
and protection of children in emergencies.
Child friendly space: Definition

• ‘Child-friendly spaces’ to mean safe spaces where communities

create nurturing environments in which children can access free
and structured play, recreation, leisure and learning activities.
Child-friendly spaces (CFSs) may provide educational and
psychosocial support and other activities that restore a sense of
normality and continuity (minimum standard of child protection in
humanitarian response, p;149)
• A CFS is a structure and safe place where children and youth meet
other children to play, learn competencies to deal with the risks
they face, be involved in some educational activities and relax in a
safe place. It gives the children the sense of safety, structure and
continuity that provides support amidst their overwhelming
experiences(World vision guide, 132)
 a CFS
• It can be a school, a community centre, a tent or an
open space in a camp or in a community. It must be a
place where the children feel safe.
• You can do this using participative mapping exercises.
• Remember to include a diverse group of boys and
girls from different ages and areas.
• It is also important to include the community leaders
and caregivers as a way of uniting the community in
caring for the children.
 Necessity?
* To provide food and nutrition
* To give them security
*Recreation : a fun place with sports, team and cultural
activities to allow the children to switch off from their
worries and concerns.
* Formal and informal education that is more holistic and
perhaps less academic. For example: a) literacy and
numeracy b) life skills c) health education in new
environments d) psycho-education; appreciating each
child is having a normal reaction to an abnormal situation.
Who comes to a CFS?
• A CFS must be accessible
and culturally sensitive to all
children, for example girls,
street children, school
dropouts, disabled, children
under five and so on. In
some cultures, boys and
girls may require separate
spaces. Different age groups
require different activities.
Who works in a CFS?
• Generally, they are local
volunteers who have been
recruited using child protection
practices. For example
teachers/community workers,
adults who work well with
children or with some basic
psychosocial or childcare
development training. Payment
and material incentives may
need to be discussed in each
setting and agreed on an
interagency basis.
 Role that CFS play in helping children
profoundly affected by a crisis?
• The CFS plays an important role in identifying
these children. Staffs are able to refer these
children to specialised services if they are
available. If they are not available, then a plan
of action must be developed.

AMADER JAYGA
A Brief History of Child Friendly Spaces
• CFS were initially established as a response to the necessity for integrated supports
for children in emergencies, particularly in contexts where many supports were
weakened or absent. They provided an appropriate, community-based mechanism
that would be useful on a broad scale. They offered the most coherent operational
strategy to meet the core commitments for children in emergencies and their
aftermath. UNICEF first created a CFS in April1999, in Kosovo, as a response to the
crisis and has since supported numerous other organizations in establishing safe
spaces. In Kosovo these initiatives proved to be an effective means of providing
large numbers of Kosovar refugee children and women with basic social services.
Subsequently, CFS were used as a response to the 1999 earthquake in Turkey. They
were established in the camps for survivors. There was a growing acceptance of CFS
in interventions. CFS then became a more common part of a response to
emergencies and were created in Angola, Chad, Colombia, East Timor, El Salvador,
Gujarat - India, Bam - Iran, Lebanon, Liberia, Northern Caucasus - Russia, Occupied
Palestinian Territories, Pakistan, Somalia, and Syria. In 2004, after the Tsunami,
many humanitarian organisations, including UNICEF, established CFS. Hundreds of
CFS have been established in Aceh, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, and Southern India.
 Principles of a
Guidance notes
CFS
by minimum
• Accessibility
• Participatory standard 150p
Appropriateness
• Informed Specific group
• Age-appropriate Age and gender sensitivity
• Disability awareness
Respectful
Play
• Confidential School
• Timely Parents
Capacity building
• Stimulating monitoring
• Supportive
• Save
• Inclusive
 Actions cover in CFS Process
• a. Conduct an assessment
• b. Organize integrated supports and services
• c. Provide ongoing training and followup
support for animators and staff
• d. Monitor and evaluate CFS programs!!
• e. Phase out or transition in a contextually
appropriate manner
 • PRACTICAL
• GUIDANCE
• FOR
• ESTABLISING
• A
• CHILD FRIENDLY SPACE
• BY unicef
 ACTION 1: Assessment
c)Planning and
a)Situational
b)Community Mapping Collaborating with
Assessment
Various Actors

e)Assessing the Scope

f)Identifying the Needs
d)Understanding the and Quality of Available
of Children and the
Daily Routines of Resources in the
Gaps in Service
Children and Families Community in a
Provision
Participatory Way

g)Verifying the Findings

through Child and
h) Selecting Partners
Community
Participation

TOOLS:1.Checklist development 2.UNICEF’s Rapid Child Assessment Form 3. “A Step-By-Step Guide” on

drawing and mapping exercises with children 4.Guidance on Assessing and Selecting Partners
 ACTION 2: Planning and Design of
Programmes
a)Determining an
Approach to Ensure c)Development of
b)Financial Planning
Integrated Programme Curricula
Programming/Services

Age appropriate
programming

* Other Essential
Considerations
for Programming

TOOLS: 1. Checklist for Programme activities and Services 2. Sample Schedule for Programme Activities 3.
Suggestions for Recreation Kits 4. Suggested Activities for the Different Age Groups
CFS is a hub for programmes
ACTION 3: Structural Design and CFS
Implementation
A)Devel b)
Building C) Ensuring D) The
oping a the Transition
Framew the of the CFS
Essentials :
ork for physical A Moving from
a Child
the CFS structur "Minimum friendly Space

Set e " Set of to an

Environment:
Standards
for the Influencing
equipment Policy
Site selection Facility or
selection Infrastruct
communit ure
y
Structural involemen
Design t
Recreation
Facilities

Medical
Facilities,

Toilet
facility

TOOLS: Contents of Toolbox 1. Checklist for Facilities 2. Suggested Materials and Supplies 3. Sample Plan for
the CFS Structure
Space plan
 ACTION 4: Operation and capacity building

B)Identificatio
n of safe
adults
A)COMMU C)Selecting
NITY staff and
MOBILIZATI volunteers
D)Orga E)Train
ON nization up
al staffs
structur
e

TOOLS: Contents of Toolbox 1.

 What is community mobilization?
Donation search. video

• Community mobilization is a process of enabling people to

engage in collective planning and action to address a problem
or to achieve a defined goal. The process builds on community
members’ self-reliance and self determination. To summarize,
community mobilization involves:
• • Collective empowerment
• • Activation of different sub-groups
• • Planning and action by local people to achieve their own
goals
• • Community ownership and management of projects
• • Ongoing, dynamic processes of collective activation
 Action 5: Monitoring and evaluation
• Developing a Monitoring and Evaluation Framework: By not
establishing a thorough monitoring and evaluation
plan/framework, the results can be:
• ! Unclear and unrealistic expectations
• ! Poor management practices
• ! Lack of criteria for assessing the performance of the partners
• ! Lack of documenting or reporting results
• ! Limited evidence to effectively modify programmes
• ! Minimal participation of children and families in monitoring
efforts
• ! Lack of information to share with stakeholders
Main Challenges of Child Friendly Spaces, P-
18
Some of main challenges that have been
identified over the past decade are:
Lack of multi-sectoral/integrated efforts.
A Temporary Response.
An inappropriate/irrelevant response.
Minimal Coordination Efforts.
Lack of Meaningful Participation